A Devon hospital has brought new procedures into place after the death of a 12-day-old baby boy.

Tyson Pipet was born almost three months prematurely and died at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth as doctors tried to save his life.

Tyson was born on February 12 this year but Dr Sampath Padmanabham told an iquest he was “very unwell from the moment of birth”.

The inquest heard that he was born 12 weeks early with underdeveloped lungs and needed immediate intensive care and support.

Doctors soon identified that little Tyson had a right-sided pneumothorax, known as a collapsed lung, which was causing him “significant distress”, reports plymouthherald .

(Image: SWNS Group)

A pneumothorax is a collection of air in the chest cavity that causes the lung to collapse. The condition is caused by a hole in the lung which allows air to flow out.

After several unsuccessful attempts to treat Tyson in Truro, doctors decided to transfer him to Derriford for further treatment. He arrived in Plymouth the morning after his birth.

In the days prior to his death, doctors made several attempts to treat Tyson using chest drains, the court heard.

Dr Julia Lilley, neonatal consultant at Derriford Hospital, described Tyson’s case as “very, very unusual” as it called for an unprecedented number of drains to be inserted.

The aim of the chest drains was to remove air from the chest cavity, to allow the right lung to reinflate.

She told the court that she decided to insert the final chest drain herself, as she was one of the most experienced consultants in the department.

The court heard that Dr Lilley believed the procedure had been successful as Tyson’s condition improved shortly afterwards. But the inquest heard that the drain had later pierced the diaphragm and the abdomen.

A specialist team at Bristol was later called to see if they would carry out surgery on the tiny baby’s diaphragm.

Shortly afterwards, it was decided that Tyson’s parents, Rebecca Rice and Alan Pipet should be allowed to visit and cuddle their little baby boy.

Tyson sadly died on February 24, 2017.

An investigation into the case following Tyson's death, which has led to changes at the hospital.

Katie Oakes, who led the investigation, told the court that the hospital had now implemented new guidelines on chest drains.

Her report also identified a lack of accurate record keeping and a communication breakdown between staff and parents, the inquest heard.

She also told the court that the hospital had introduced a new policy to standardise documentation and improve staff education.

(Image: Lucy Davies)

Pathologist Dr Andreas Marnerides, who carried out the post-mortem, said that Tyson’s death was caused by tension pneumothorax, respiratory distress syndrome and prematurity.

Coroner Ian Arrow recorded a narrative conclusion, in which he stated that Tyson had been born prematurely with underdeveloped lungs. He added that despite efforts to save him his condition deteriorated and he unfortunately died.